I am sitting in the slow and quiet darkness of a little past 4 am, listening to the morning chorus begin with the soft chirping by my trusty radiator. I touch my fingertips which feel, and almost sound, like paper, suddenly rough and a bit inflamed from never stopping the tasks of mixing potting soil, unwrapping trees from our Fedco order and planting them in the soil, sowing seeds into trays, pruning the winterkill from trees and shrubs, hauling stuff from here to there, and almost never wearing gloves.

A brand new season has finally come to sweep me off my feet. After an especially wearying winter spring has come to me like a dancing partner, starting off with a few subtle and sneaky steps before swinging me into a fever pitch of spin and color and love. I truly feel like Persephone risen from the underworld. I walk and find the pilewort (Ficaria verna), the squill (Scilla spp.), and the sweet glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa forbesii) at my mudbooted feet. Dandelion’s manes are starting to roar gloriously onto sidewalks and I’ve seen some of chickweed’s stars. And when I occasionally take the time to look up I’m rewarded by more constellations, this time of cherry blossoms awakening and the fuzzy buds of magnolias bursting to a blushing white. The world is wet and infused with the words of E. E. Cummings: mud-luscious. Puddle wonderful.

This is a big transition year for us. After two years in Dracut we are delighted to be moving our operation to Canton, MA. My husband Matt, who became my business partner in the fall, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have our work and dear plants so much closer to our Hyde Park home. While I had the pleasure of listening to a panoply of very fine audiobooks, podcasts, and Beyoncé albums, I am So Ready to not have to drive an hour (or more!) to get to the farm.

Creating and nourishing and endlessly working at my own farm has been the closest I’ve come to feeling like a parent. Elizabeth Stone wrote that to have a child is “to have your heart go walking outside your body.” I can relate. I don’t want my weary little heart growing all the way up by the New Hampshire border while I’m trying to sleep in Boston and wondering what on earth is happening with the bee balm and the boneset. Ten minutes is still too far, but it’s close enough that I can almost feel my little muscle beating among all the green life of comfrey and tulsi and rose.

I say that, but everything’s still up in Dracut. Our new land was used for decades as a hayfield and then let fallow for a while after that, so we had to have a farmer with fancier equipment than ours plow it deeply to break up years of compaction and piles of stone. Today we lime it, because holy smokes it’s acidic, and then our man Charlie (who always ends phone calls with “toodle-oo”) will return to disc it. We’ll wait a few weeks for the grasses and wildflowers that Charlie tilled in to break down and for the lime to get cozy with our soil’s chemistry and then we’ll finally be able to start moving truckloads (upon truckloads) (upon truckloads) (upon truckloads!) of our plants to their gorgeous new home, and old and esteemed estate full of wild woods, formal gardens, and a bona fide mansion. And the sowing! Oh the packets we have of wee little lives so ready to sprout right in our field. Poppies, love-in-a-mist, calendula, cosmos, sunflowers, fenugreek, Japanese chrysanthemums you can eat in your salad, and so many more, tucked into their little paper packets and hungering for the water and the light. ​But for now the robins in our yard trees have finally begun singing and while I went to bed right after dinner I’m realizing I could do with a bit more sleep before the new day’s work begins again. Until next time I hope that your dearest dreams for this season blossom into a beautiful truth.

Muddy River Herbals is currently accepting CSA members and will be holding their first plant sale of the year on the farm on May 20th. To learn more please visit their website at www.muddyriverherbals.com!

Jennifer Hauf, grower and owner of Muddy River Herbals, is a farmer and writer living in Boston. As part of our Herbstalk garden team, she also ensures that pockets of herbs thrive around the city. A transplant from the rustbelt of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she grew up in love with the life around her, especially as seen in her father’s and grandparents’ gardens. She began using herbal medicine a decade ago, and has been tending to herbs on farms and gardens since 2006. When not elbow-deep in the dirt she writes about urban ecology at her blog, Spokes and Petals, spins wool and bicycle tires, and occasionally hammers out a tune on her banjo. She is available for gardening consultations, workshops, and freelance work.

Today's post includes two videos created by one of our wonderful teachers, Brendan Kelly. He is the author of "The Yin and Yang of Climate Crisis", and in these short video clips he talks about the important connection between personal and ecological health.

You can learn more about his book here, and see the details of his class here, Global Warming & Internal Inflammation, which will be offered at Herbstalk on June 3rd.

Part I:

Part II:

Brendan Kelly has a master’s degree in acupuncture and teaches about Chinese medicine at schools, colleges, universities and conferences around the country. He is a faculty member at Johnson State College in VT and the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in FL. He has 20 years experience in western herbs, with 12 years in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. He practices acupuncture and Chinese and western herbal medicine full time at the clinic he co-founded, Jade Mountain Wellness, in Burlington, VT. In 2015 he published his first book "The Yin and Yang of Climate Crisis" which presents the deeper, root causes of our warming planet and its connection to our personal and collective health.

The miracle of herbs and plants is that when taken responsibly and respectfully they do not deaden the emotions. As gentle, loving, supportive allies, plants help us work through the lessons we are here to learn. In particular, roses do this beautifully.

Rose petals and their medicine help to move and open a heart which has tightened emotionally and spiritually. In both Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the Unani (Greek-Arabic medicine) traditions, the heart is believed to be a physical organ and the seat of consciousness. TCM uses the term shen, while Unani medicine talks about pneuma. Both schools teach that rose has a powerful affect on the spiritual state of one’s heart. Unani medicine has a category of heart herbs termed as “exhilarants”, which help the spiritual heart feel joy. Rose is considered both a shen tonic in TCM and an exhilarant in Unani medicine.

A wonderful nervine, great for uplifting the mood and alleviating depression, rose also has antispasmodic, aphrodisiac and sedative qualities, as well as being anti-inflammatory. Rose helps regulate menstruation as well as stimulate the digestion. Rosehips, which come along after the bloom has faded, are a wonderful source of vitamins C, B2 and E.

One may use rose as an herbal supplement, essential oil or flower essence. Rose petal tincture is often used in heart formulas. Dried rose petals make a lovely addition to teas. One of my favorite ways to use rose is to make a glycerite of the fresh flowers of Rosa rugosa, the fragrant wild rose found near many beaches. I have found it to be a powerful yet gentle remedy which truly gladdens the heart while easing sorrow and grief. I’ve given rose glycerite to many people over the years who are experiencing depression or loss. Every single person has reported back that rose glycerite helped them through the grief process, making it easier to bear.

For deep grief, I also recommend the homeopathic remedy Ignatia amara. Ignatia amara comes from the seeds of a large tree found in the Philippines which was beloved of the Jesuits, an order founded by St. Ignatius, hence its name. I find the combination of Ignatia amaraand Rose glycerite both powerful and soothing to the wounded spirit which is trying to heal. Rose essential oil, made from Rosa damascena, helps alleviate depression and anxiety.

Rosa rugosa flower essence is love. It raises negative vibrations and helps purify the heart/shen. The alchemy between Rosa rugosa and the sea enables this flower essence to physically balance out negative ions, release grief & transmute negative vibrations into love/compassion. Rose petals are soft and can soften the heart. The thorns offer protection. This is truly a beautiful flower essence and plant. To ease your heart, visit the Rose spirit. You can do this by meditating on the Rosa rugosaeither while taking its essence or holding it in your hand. Trust in the rose spirit to help you release that which no longer serves your highest good.

This year I infused some local honey with rose petals. It adds a wonderful touch to a cuppa and many recipes which call for honey. Spend some time with Rosa rugosa, as an herb, essential oil, flower essence, and next summer with the plant itself. Let her inspire you to work with her in whichever way seems most appropriate. Experiment and open yourself to whatever lessons she has to teach you. Feel free to share your experiences by sending me an email, patrice@greenaromatics.com. I’d love to hear how Rosehas revealed herself to you!

Patrice’s holistic journey started in 2010 when she began a mentorship practice with master healer Catherine Miller. Within six months, a transformative experience among the coastal redwoods of Muir Woods and its beach inspired further studies, eventually leading to the foundation of Green Aromatics, a holistic practice offering education and consultations in many healing modalities. Patrice is a cum laude graduate of Boston College and received her herbal training from The Boston School of Herbal Studies. A certified aromatherapist, herbalist, and flower essence practitioner, Patrice also incorporates reiki, energy healing and shamanic techniques into her work. She is a regular contributor to the Herbstalk blog and teaches at various locations in Eastern Massachusetts.